


Expression

by Anonymous



Series: Gen Figure Skating Fics [2]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Evgenia and Yuzuru being best friends, Gen, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Yuzu is the goat, Tracy is the Cricket Club mom, Yuzuru Hanyu gets a hug, Yuzuru Hanyu wears earrings, and we love and appreciate her, need i say more, the fic you never knew you needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29076771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: "Yuzuru had always maintained that the technicality of figure skating and the technique required to get a jump just right was the foundation for his graceful choreography- that there is a duality between the two that could not be separated.So he didn’t see why everyone felt the need to comment on his costume choice. Sure, it had a lot of jewels- but didn’t almost all of his previous ones? Yes, he was wearing more bracelets, more necklaces, earrings-On second thought, it was probably the earrings."Yuzuru, earrings, nail polish, and shutting down stupid journalists.
Relationships: Yuzuru Hanyu & Brian Orser, Yuzuru Hanyu & Tracy Wilson
Series: Gen Figure Skating Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133261
Kudos: 24
Collections: Anonymous





	Expression

**Author's Note:**

> tw: someone uses the word gay in an offensive manner near the end. However, there are no slurs.

“What’s that in your ear?”

Tracy didn’t mean for it to come off so harshly, but she was initially worried that he had been injured and hadn’t told them about it. 

Yuzuru cowered and skated back a couple paces, putting his hands up to his ears self consciously. The decision to pierce them had been impulsive, and he hadn’t really thought about it until afterwards. 

He liked them, though. He enjoyed shopping for different styles and accenting his outfits with a black stud or silver feather that curved upward to frame the side of his ear. 

“Nothing,” Yuzuru deflected. Tracy skated closer and gently grabbed his hands to guide them away from his ears. 

When she took in the earrings (which today were small, silver triangles), her expression softened. 

“Yuzu. Why didn’t you tell us you were getting your ears pierced? You can’t-”

“It won’t interfere with my skating,” Yuzuru quickly cut in. 

Tracy shook her head and Yuzuru bit down on his lip hard. He hadn’t wanted to draw any attention to it, afraid he would be told that boys can’t wear things like earrings. 

Instead, Tracy smiled. “That’s not what I mean. I was saying, you can’t just not let me help you find which ones to buy. Earrings are kind of my thing, you know,” she laughed, showing off her own dangling gold ones. 

Yuzuru let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. “I let you decide for next competition,” he promised. 

“Perfect,” Tracy said. “Now get back to training. And please, tell Brian before he sees it himself and has a heart attack.” 

Yuzuru threw his head back and giggled. Maybe this was okay, he thought. 

___________________

A foreign smell filled the air of the breakroom when Yuzuru went to have his lunch in between practice sessions. Yuzuru scrunched his nose at the smell and heard an amused laugh from his side. 

There, Evgenia was retouching her nail polish, her hand carefully poised over a tissue. “Have you never smelled nail polish before?” she asked, looking over at Yuzuru. 

“Of course I do,” Yuzuru responded. “I have a sister.” 

“Oh, right, right,” Evgenia nodded. Yuzuru sat down on the other side of the table and opened his lunchbox, fishing for his chopsticks. He watched Evgenia in fascination as she retouched her pointer finger. 

“You want to try?” she asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

Yuzuru startled, badly, and his chopsticks fell out of his hands. He grabbed them again and focused on eating, looking anywhere but at her. “No,” he said quickly. 

“What, do you not like the color?” Evgenia smirked. She reached into her bag and pulled out more bottles, one a dark navy, one a forest green, and another one plain black. “How are these? I’ll let you choose.” 

Yuzuru cautiously looked back and took in the three color options. “Black,” he finally whispered. A safe choice. 

Evgenia didn’t hesitate and took Yuzuru’s hand as if nothing was the matter. She unscrewed the lid of the black polish and dipped the brush in, and then flawlessly swept the brush across the nail of his pinky finger. 

“You’re very good,” Yuzuru said. 

Evgenia smiled. “I have a lot of practice. I don’t really like chipped nails.” Yuzuru nodded his head solemnly. 

They fell into a comfortable rhythm; Evgenia painted each of his nails carefully and then instructed him to wave his hands around to get them to dry. Yuzuru took bites of his lunch where he could. 

Suddenly, Brian opened the door to the breakroom. Evgenia and Yuzuru froze, Yuzuru staring at him mid-chew with owlish eyes. 

Brian took in the scene silently. Yuzuru didn’t move a single muscle in apprehension. He side-eyed his exits, wondering how long it would take him to leave the room. 

As quickly as he came in, Brian’s mouth quirked up into a light smile. “Training starts up again in five. Make sure that dries before you get onto the ice.” 

Yuzuru nodded emphatically and watched Brian click the door closed on his way out. 

When he turned back to Evgenia, both of them looked at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing. The tension in his shoulders loosened and he was able to watch the soothing motion of the nail polish coating his nails in bold strokes. 

“Let me know when it comes off and I can redo them,” Evgenia said once she was done. Yuzuru bowed and grabbed his lunchbox to run back to practice. He didn’t want to be late. 

___________________

At competitions, commentators and fans always marveled at Yuzuru’s graceful movements and expressions. He was known for his beautiful step sequences and the sensation of gliding across the ice as if his skates were suspended above ground and he was actually flying. 

What people didn’t see, however, were the practices where he just couldn’t seem to land a jump and the bruises that followed when he picked himself up off the ice. What people didn’t see was the sweat and exhaustion after training, or when he had to ice his knees for hours- these moments were not so glamorous. 

But Yuzuru had always maintained that the technicality of figure skating and the technique required to get a jump just right was the foundation for his graceful choreography- that there is a duality between the two that could not be separated. 

So he didn’t see why everyone felt the need to comment on his costume choice. Sure, it had a lot of jewels- but didn’t almost all of his previous ones? Yes, he was wearing more bracelets, more necklaces, earrings-

On second thought, it was probably the earrings. 

He was sitting at the press conference with Nathan and Shoma at his sides. It had been a gold medal win and he couldn’t have been more excited, despite popping a jump in his long program. Ghislain had only brushed him off when Yuzuru tried to talk to him passionately about practicing the jump more, saying that Yuzuru needed to rest more. 

“Question to Yuzuru, please,” a tall man wearing a suit said once he had gotten the microphone. “When I watch all the… elements, I should say, in your performance, I am struck by how much figure skating has strayed from how it’s supposed to be. Don’t you think we need to bring back the powerful, grittier form of figure skating as a sport like Nathan does instead of acting as though this is some kind of gay nightclub?”    
  
Everyone in the room stilled. Even the constant flashing of the cameras stopped. 

Yuzuru turned to his translator and asked if he had heard the man correctly, hoping he just didn’t understand his English or something. Instead, his translator confirmed his suspicions. 

Yuzuru fumed. Never, in his years of competition experience, had he been asked such a rude question. He swallowed down his urge to yell at the man right then and there and instead calmly leaned forward to the mic. Everyone in the room sat at the edge of their seats. 

Yuzuru decided to answer in Japanese. He wouldn’t give the man the satisfaction of watching him struggle through finding the right words in English. 

“I do not understand how this pertains to my skating, but I will graciously answer your question regardless. First of all, I do not believe it is fair to compare any two skaters. Every skater has their own style, and Nathan’s is as unique and interesting as mine. I don’t see a need for placing labels on any one skater.”   
  
He paused as the translator caught them up to speed. It was silent enough that he could hear a pin drop.

“Secondly, I understand that you are referring to my often flashy costumes and jewelry, as well as my interest in graceful movements. These are my choices, and I stand by them. To be what you would say is effeminate  _ is  _ to be powerful. To enjoy the artistry of a sport  _ is  _ athletic. To be expressive and honest  _ is  _ to be strong.”    
  
Yuzuru nodded to the translator to proceed. Journalists were scribbling fiercely on their notepads, trying to capture his every word- but Yuzuru wasn’t done.

“Finally, I don’t owe you anything, and I don’t care if you don’t want to watch my performances. Figure skating is not some kind of mold to which its athletes must conform. Pointing out things such as these and making such rude comments creates a negative environment for all skaters who wish to express themselves as I have, and I will not stand for it.”   
  
A pause. “That is all,” he said. 

When the translator was done, the whole room erupted into applause. All the journalists, Nathan, Shoma, even Tracy, Brian and Ghislain in the back stood up and cheered. Yuzuru blushed, bowing in his seat and fixing the man who had asked the question with one final death glare. 

After the press conference, his coaches wrapped him up in a big hug. 

“We’ve never been more proud of you, Yuzuru. Really, good job,” they said. 

Yuzuru only smiled. Nobody would question his style ever again- least of all himself. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry it isn't great, I wrote it really fast. But leave a comment if you like!
> 
> The question from the journalist actually resembles a real comment I saw on one of Yuzu's YouTube videos. And let's just say I was not having it- so, I offer you this fic. 
> 
> If you're interested, I have more figure skating fics in this series (well, just one other at the moment but it's about Yuzu with kids- aka the cutest thing ever- so I highly recommend it lol). 
> 
> Thanks again!


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